Thursday Night Football: Cincinnati vs. N.C. State

Thursday Night Football: Cincinnati vs. N.C. State

It’s a clash of Big East and ACC Titans. The Wolfpack of North Carolina State faces the mighty Bearcats of Cincinnati. The winner will become the most deceptive 3-1 team in college football.

North Carolina State: Whether it’s attitude or talent, The Wolfpack rank 77th in the country in total defense. They have played two FCS teams, Liberty and South Alabama, as well as Wake Forest. They lost to Wake Forest. Really worrisome? They surrendered eight sacks combined in the two FCS games.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats went medieval on FCS Austin Peay and FBS stalwart Akron (Total Offense -114, Total Defense – 102). Against Tennessee they gave up 45 points and 405 yards through the air. Expect them to go down with the Big East ship, because asking Conference USA to take them back will be AWKWARD.

Reason for Pessimism: Cincinnati leads the nation in turnover margin (+12) and North Carolina State (+5) is in the top ten. That likely will even out. If neutrals are lucky, it may even be tonight.